Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was
Queen of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the
fourth wife of King
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to
Francis, Duke of Bar, son and heir of
Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, although their marriage did not proceed. In March 1539, negotiations for Anne's marriage to Henry began, as Henry believed that he needed to form a political alliance with her brother,
William, who was a leader of the Protestants of western Germany, to strengthen his position against potential attacks from Catholic
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.
Anne arrived in England on 27 December 1539 and married Henry on 6 January 1540, but after six months, the marriage was declared
unconsummated and, as a result, she was not crowned
queen consort. Following the
annulment, Henry gave her a generous settlement, and she was thereafter known as ''the King's Beloved Sister''. Remaining in England, she lived to see the reign of
Edward VI, and the coronation of
Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry's wives.
Early life
Anne was born in 1515, on either 22 September, or more probably 28 June. She was born in
Düsse